Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-01

uggest.o. >. mystery In those shadowsi
You know tho painteri"
Thatcher murmured, @Mi1 De Haro," with
Q new and rather odd self-conscioumen in
speaking her name.
ayes. And you know the story of the pic
ture, Of courser
Thatcher thought he didn't. Well, no; in
fact he did not remember.
@Why, this recumbent figure was IN old
Spanish lover of hers, whom she believed to
have been murdered there. It's CHASTITY
fancy, imt til"
Two things annoyed Thatcher; first the
epithet "lovsr," - applied to Concho by
another man; second, that the picture be-
longed to him; and what the d-l did she
mean by
EYES," he broke out finally; @but how did
yow get itf
@Oh, 1 bought IL Of her. I've been sort Of
patron of her ever since found out how she
stood towards us. As she was quite alone
here in Washington, my mother and sister
have taken her up, and have been doing the
social thing"
@How long since7" asked Thatcher.
1Oh, not long. The day she telegraphed
you she came here to know what she could do
for US, and when said nothing could be done
except to keep congress of, why she went
and did It For she, and she alone, got that
speech out Of the senator. But" he added,
. little mischievously, "you seem to know
very little about herw
"No-I-that is-rve been very busy late
ly," returned Thatcher, staring at the picture.
"Does she come here oftenw
ayes, lately, quite often; she was here this
evening with mother; was here, Think, when
you came"
Thatcher looked intently at Harlowe. But
that gentlemans face betrayed no confusion.
Thatcher refilled his glass little awkwardly,
tossed of the liquor at a draught, and rose to
hiafeet.
@Coms, old fellow, you're not going now.
shan't permit it," said Harlowe, laying his
hand kindly on his clients shoulder. "Youre
out Of sorts. Stay here with me tonight.
Our accommodations are not large, but are
elastic. can bestow you comfortably until
morning Wait here a moment, while give
the necessary orders"
Thatcher was not sorry to be left alone. In
the last half hour he had become convinced
that his love for Carmen de Haro had been in
some way most dreadfully abused. While he
was hard at work in California, she was
being introduced in Washington society by
parties with eligible brothers, who bought
her paintings It is a relief to the truly jeal-
GUS mind to indulge in plurals. Thatcher
liked to think that she was already beset by
hundreds of brothers.
He still kept staring at the picture By and
by it faded away in part, and very vivid rec
election of the misty, midnight, moonlit walk
he had once taken with her came back, and
refllled the canvas with its magic. He saw
the ruined furnace; the dark, overhanging
masses of rock, the trembling intricacies Of
foliage, and, above all, the fash Of dark eyes
under mantilla at his shoulder. What q
fool he had beenI Had he not really been as
senseless and stupid as this very Concho,
lying here like logl And she had loved that
man! What a fool she must have thought
him that EVENING" What q snob she must
think him nowl
He was startled by slight rustling in the
passage, that almost ceased a. he turned.
Thatcher looked toward the door of the outer
Office, as il half expecting that the lord chan
cellor, like the commander in "Don Juan,"
might have accepted his thoughtless invitation.
He listened again; everything was still. He
was conscious of feeling i'll at ease and q trihe
nervous What long time Harlowe took to
make his preparations. He would look out in
the hall To do this it was necessary to turn
up the gas. He did SO, and in his confusion
terned it out
Where were the matchesl He remembered
that there was bronze something on the
able that, in the irony Of modern decorative
taste, might hold ashes or matches, or any
thing of an unpicturesque character. He
knocked something over, evidently the ink
something else-this time champagne glass.
Becoming reckless, and now groping at ran
dom in the ruins he overturned the bronze
Mercury on the center table, and sat down
hopelessly in his chair. And then a pair of
velvet fingers slid into his, with the matches,
and this audible, musical statement:
ut is a match you are seekingi Here is Of
them"
Au0WSuoS AuoAcup clAAOoA ssnooO, AAcA NOuS-
feeling tho RIGHTEOUSNESS of saying THANK
you" to dark somebody-struck the match,
beheld by its brief, uncertain glimmer Carmen
de Haro beside him, burned his fingers,
coughed, dropped the match, and was cast
again into utter darkness.
"Let me try!"
Carmen struck match, jumped briskly on
the chair, Lit the gas, jumped lightly down
again, and said: "You do like to sit in the
dark-eh2 So am COMMUNICATIONS.
"Miss de Haro," said Thatcher, with sud-
den, honest earnestness, advancing with out
stretched hands, "believe me, am sincerely
delighted, overjoyed, again to meet"
She had, however, quickly retreated as he
approached, ensconcing herself behind the
high back of a large antique chair, on the
cushion of which she knelt / regret to add
also that she slapped his outstretched fingers
a little sharply with her inevitable black fan
as he still advanced.
1--WE are not in California. It is Washing
ton. It is after midnight. I am a poor girl,
and have to lose-what you Gala charac-
ter You shall sit over there"-she pointed
to the sofa-"and shall sit here"-she rested
her boyish head on the top of the chair-"and
we shall talk, for l have to speak to you, Don
Royal"
Thatcher took the seat indicated, contritely,